Newcastle's big guns came up with the goods when their side needed them most to drag the Magpies back into the top four of the Barclaycard Premiership.

Craig Bellamy, Kieron Dyer and inevitably Alan Shearer all weighed in with goals to beat Everton and send Sir Bobby Robson's men back into the Champions League places, for 24 hours at least, at the expense of Liverpool.

Bellamy needed just four minutes to take his tally for the season to nine, and after Thomas Gravesen had levelled, Dyer scored his first league goal since February last year to restore their lead.

Everton hit the crossbar through Joseph Yobo a minute after the restart, but Shearer struck six minutes later, capitalising on the defender's error to claim his 25th of the season and ease the tension in front of an expectant crowd of 52,155.

Yobo's 81st-minute header set the alarm bells ringing again, but Shearer did the trick in the final minute to ensure the points remained on Tyneside.

Having seen his side drastically under-perform in their 1-0 defeat at Bolton on Sunday, Robson held a meeting with his player.

The message appeared to have got through as his men conjured up an enterprising, if at times patchy, opening 45 minutes.

But there were a few negatives as they started shakily at the back and allowed Gravesen to draw the visitors level before tightening things up.

The home side could hardly have got off to a better start when Bellamy raced on to Shearer's knock-down before holding off David Unsworth and expertly rounding Nigel Martyn to open the scoring with only four minutes gone.

However, the visitors hit back within eight minutes after Tomasz Radzinski was allowed time and space down the left to pull the ball back for Gravesen who, with Dyer trailing, thumped a first-time shot past Shay Given.

Order was restored on 21 minutes when Dyer, who had earlier missed a good chance at the near post, played a ball out to Darren Ambrose and then made his way into the penalty area to head his cross past Martyn.

Newcastle could have put the result beyond doubt before the break had they not continually conceded possession, and while Radzinski and Kevin Campbell extended Jonathan Woodgate and Titus Bramble there was always a chance of an Everton fightback.

That almost came with less than a minute into the second half when, after Newcastle old boy Steve Watson earned the visitors a corner, he got up at the near post to flick on Kevin Kilbane's cross for Yobo to send a volley into the turf and across the crossbar.

Campbell and Watson both just failed to get on the end of a 51st-minute Tobias Linderoth cross seconds after Ambrose had fired wide at the other end, but as the nerves started to jangle, Shearer provided the sedative.

Speed and Campbell flew into a no-holds-barred challenge on halfway and the ball flew towards the Newcastle captain and Yobo, who took his eye off it to allow the 33-year-old to home in on goal and, after calmly drawing Martyn, make it 3-1.

Everton continued to battle away, but Newcastle, feeling they had drawn their sting, settled into a comfort zone knowing the hard work had been done.

Things might have been a little different, however, had Kilbane hit the target with a firm header from a 64th-minute Gary Naysmith corner, and Watson appeared unfortunate to be given offside as he headed home three minutes later.

The visitors got their reward nine minutes from time when Yobo took advantage of some slack marking to make it 3-2, but there was to be no twist in the tail as Shearer made sure of the points at the end.

Teams

Newcastle Given, Hughes, Woodgate, Bramble, Bernard, Ambrose (Bowyer 75), Dyer, Speed, Robert (Ameobi 84), Bellamy, Shearer.

Subs Not Used: Harper, Taylor, Viana.

Goals: Bellamy 5, Dyer 21, Shearer 52, 90.

Everton Martyn, Naysmith, Yobo, Unsworth, Pistone, Watson, Linderoth (Nyarko 68), Gravesen, Kilbane (McFadden 68), Radzinski, Campbell.

Subs Not Used: Wright, Carsley, Hibbert.

Goals: Gravesen 12, Yobo 81.

Att: 42,155

Ref: D Gallagher (Oxfordshire).